Plant Bugs (Miridae)

This a big family of small bugs, varying in length from 3 to 8 mm. They do look a lot like the Seed Bugs, but a lot of species are more colourful. Plant Bugs usually have quite long antennae and they lack the ocelli found in Seed Bugs. That is why they are called Blind Bugs in many languages. In Central Europe we find some 300 species, some of which are very hard to identify. It may help if you know the plant species being sucked by the bug, for many similar bugs specialize on one kind of host plant only, allowing you to name the species in spite of the similarity with other species. Almost all Plant Bugs are adult in summer and autumn and the eggs overwinter. Even though a few species do hunt for other small insects, most feed on plants all their life. The adults are found in flowers regularly. A few Plant Bugs are harmful in agriculture, such as the Potato Bug and the Common Green Capsid.